12 Red Flags in Inventory Management & How to Fix Them
Inventory ruins profits and bleeds cash. For Apple CEO Tim Cook "Inventory is fundamentally evil." Supply chain has the power to turn this demon into a competitive advantage. The infographic...
12 Red Flags in Inventory Management & How to Fix Them
Inventory ruins profits and bleeds cash. For Apple CEO Tim Cook "Inventory is fundamentally evil." Supply chain has the power to turn...
The Ghost Metrics in S&OP/ IBP: Practitioners Beware!
I'm a ghost living in a ghost town sings Mick Jagger from The Rolling Stones. Likewise, in the S&OP/ IBP world, we live with ghost metrics. They are invisible in the financial statements, but,...
Supercharge Your Spreadsheets with XLOOKUP – For Demand and Supply Planners
Introduction The XLOOKUP Function is a superb lookup function that was introduced by Microsoft, in later versions of Office. You can use the XLOOKUP Function to find a value or a set of values in an...
Have you Heard? The Business is Screaming for ONE Single Plan with Financial Ties: S&OP, IBP, FP&A, xP&A (almost a poem)
Loud and clear. The business is begging for one single plan with financial ties. Acronyms flourish all around. But, if you go deep, you will find out that to thrive in operational and financial...
Profitability Metrics in S&OP/ IBP: Operating Income, EBIT, and EBITDA
What profitability metrics are you using in your S&OP/ IBP? Many companies have adopted EBITDA but is it the right metric to use? What about traditional metrics including Operating Profit? In...
Can we do better than EBITDA for Cash Flow in S&OP/ IBP?
EBITDA is a common profitability metric also used as a proxy for cash flow in advanced S&OP/ IBP processes. Warren Buffet has condemned the use of EBITDA and stated that “companies like...
Working Capital and Cash Flow at Walmart and Coca-Cola: Explained for Supply Chain and Procurement
Walmart has a negative working capital while Coca-Cola has a positive one, which company is doing better? Another question for you. Being in Supply Chain and Procurement, how can you improve working...
Inventory: Asset or Evil for Financial Performance in S&OP/ IBP?
Inventory: Asset or Evil for Financial Performance in S&OP/ IBP? Tim Cook—Apple’s CEO, former COO under Steve Jobs—considers inventory “fundamentally evil”. In Accounting, inventory is an asset....
Why Cash Lost its Crown in S&OP/ IBP?
Cash is king. But, in advanced Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) or Integrated Business Planning (IBP), this king has lost his crown. Often, there is no cash flow forecasting in S&OP/...
What is the Difference Between Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) and Integrated Business Planning (IBP)?
Is that the right question? Or should we ask whether there are any differences between Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) and Integrated Business Planning (IBP)? There has been a heated debate...
Accrual and Cash Accounting: The Fundamentals for Supply Chain Professionals to Master in Mature S&OP/ IBP
Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) may remain “a Supply Chain thing” if there is no integration with Finance. A less mature S&OP resides within functional silos, preventing companies from...
Sales and Operations Planning Terminology 101: S&OP, SIOP, IBP, FP&A, S&OE/ITP Explained
So many acronyms can become confusing even for the seasoned practitioner of financial and operational planning. This article aims at defining and shedding light on the concepts behind the numerous...
How to run a successful Sales and Operations Planning (S&OP) for Substantial Financial Results
Think about profits, margins, cash flow, EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization). Stop thinking about number of cases, pallets, truckloads, and OTIF (on time in...